Episode 653
Zeke glared at Arthur Draker, who had possessed the body of Rivaine, and unleashed an even more intense killing intent.
Arthur Draker, noticing Zeke’s reaction, wore a look of feigned disappointment.
“It seems you’re not too thrilled to see your father alive.”
Hearing Arthur Draker’s hypocritical tone made Zeke’s stomach churn. Memories of his mother, Laura Agamemnon, being killed by Arthur’s hand flashed vividly in his mind, fueling his rage.
Even after learning that Laura had faked her pregnancy, leaving him uncertain if she was his biological mother, Zeke still felt a strong attachment to her. Somehow, she had always tried to protect him from something.
And Arthur Draker had brutally murdered her.
Rumble!
Divine energy surged more powerfully from Zeke’s body. Arthur Draker’s eyes widened in surprise.
“The soul of an arrogant savior! To harness that in a human body… Zeke, you truly are… exceptional.”
Arthur emphasized the word “exceptional” with a peculiar intensity.
But Zeke, uninterested in hearing more, launched a fiery attack at him.
Boom!
A spear of fire shot from the ring of flames, hurtling toward Arthur Draker in Rivaine’s body. Arthur smirked and swung Caliburn.
Whoosh!
Instead of a typical explosion, the collision between Caliburn’s strike and the fiery spear resulted in a strange phenomenon: both simply vanished, as if erased from existence.
Zeke realized what kind of power Arthur Draker had used.
“A twisted causality.”
He had used this twisted causality to completely erase the abyssal flames.
As Zeke watched him intently, Arthur Draker spoke.
“Zeke, I don’t wish to fight you. You are my son. If we could create a new era together, this world would be far more perfect.”
Zeke shouted back, his voice filled with anger.
“Spare me your disgusting words!”
Suddenly, Levatein and Ascalon floated before Zeke, radiating sword light.
Pointing the swords at Arthur Draker, Zeke spoke.
“You’ve come here in desperation to prevent your precious experiments from turning to ash, haven’t you?”
Arthur Draker had invested unimaginable resources and time to create the Apollyon Knights, capable of wielding elemental swords. Losing them without even showcasing their power would be a massive blow.
Arthur Draker laughed, holding his head.
“Haha! You’re right. I couldn’t outsmart you. Rivaine, I told him to keep an eye on you, but he couldn’t resist leading his brothers against you.”
Arthur’s eyes gleamed.
“So, what do you think of these children, Zeke? They are the culmination of my dream for true purebloods.”
Zeke merely grimaced in disgust, refusing to respond.
Arthur Draker shook his head, disappointed.
“I thought you might understand my feelings. It’s a shame.”
He raised Caliburn again, pointing it at Zeke.
“Regardless, I do consider you special. If I didn’t, I would have killed you the moment I first saw you as a newborn.”
Zeke felt his mind grow colder at Arthur Draker’s words.
“I will capture Arthur Draker’s soul here and annihilate it completely.”
Zeke had previously sealed or destroyed the souls of incarnated constellations. Although Arthur Draker wielded the extraordinary power of twisted causality, Zeke had karma points and Levatein’s unique power of the dark soul, which could nullify it. This was the perfect opportunity to capture Arthur Draker.
“Hela, come forth.”
Despite the significant consumption of divine energy, Zeke summoned Hela to ensure Arthur’s capture.
Most of the guardians and summoned creatures were stationed at key locations across the continent, leaving him with no other choice.
Hela emerged from the ring of fire, blocking Arthur Draker’s escape with her black flames.
Arthur Draker, unfazed, smiled with interest.
“The second beast of the apocalypse, the abyssal holy beast Hela… quite the pet you have.”
Buzz!
As he finished speaking, Caliburn vibrated intensely, and the space around Arthur Draker began to distort.
Crack!
It was as if the area he occupied was shifting to another dimension.
Zeke, realizing Arthur intended to escape, launched an immediate attack.
Boom!
The power of the two swords and the abyssal flames surged toward Arthur Draker.
Whoosh!
Hela’s abyssal flames enveloped Arthur Draker, but within the distorted space, they fragmented and changed form, scattering into pieces.
Arthur Draker, observing the distorted flames as if trapped in shards of glass, laughed.
“Zeke, this won’t be enough.”
As he spoke, Levatein and Ascalon descended upon him.
Boom!
The swords, enveloped in sword light, pierced the distorted space, threatening to cleave Arthur Draker in two.
Arthur moved Caliburn, and a barrier resembling shattered glass surrounded him, blocking the swords’ advance.
“A sword that cuts to the core. You’ve grown remarkably.”
But then, plasma began to crackle from Rivaine’s body, which Arthur had possessed.
Crackle!
Arthur Draker furrowed his brow.
“I didn’t intend for our meeting to unfold this way… consider today a light tea time. I look forward to our proper meeting.”
As Arthur Draker prepared to retreat, a shadow beneath him revealed itself.
Boom!
Solomon’s chains shot from the shadow, attempting to ensnare him.
Clang!
The mirror-like shards blocked the chains, protecting Arthur Draker.
Then, two more shadowy swords emerged: Caladbolg and Caledfwlch.
The shadow swords lunged at Arthur Draker.
Boom!
As the shadow swords pierced the barrier, Arthur Draker’s expression finally changed.
“You…!”
The calm demeanor vanished as he glared at Zeke, clenching his teeth.
After assessing the situation, he spoke to Zeke, his gray eyes gleaming.
“The next time we meet, it won’t be like today.”
With those words, Arthur Draker pulled something from his coat.
A shard of a strange, energy-filled mirror.
He split the shard with both hands, releasing a blinding light.
Whoosh!
The light from the mirror shard expanded, enveloping the entire space.
Beyond the spreading light, Rivaine and the Apollyon Knights vanished.
“Arthur Draker!”
As Zeke rushed toward him, the space began to warp.
Buzz!
Zeke sensed the energy of twisted causality in the altered space.
“I’m being pulled in.”
He tried to retreat, but the spatial change was too swift.
The explosion of light engulfed Zeke completely.
Sizzle—
When the blinding light finally subsided, Zeke opened his eyes to find himself in a completely different place.
No longer in the cavern, a new space unfolded before him.
Zeke surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings, his expression one of shock.
“This place is…”
It was the “Cradle,” the training ground where the young blood of the Draker family grew.
But there was a difference. The corridors, unmistakably the Cradle, were entirely white.
The unexpected familiarity of the space left Zeke bewildered.
This was where he had spent his childhood, a place that had instilled deep trauma.
As he tried to gather his power to assess the situation, something even more unsettling occurred.
“I can’t feel my divine energy or powers.”
The numerous powers Zeke possessed were blocked, unable to manifest.
As he realized the problem, a message appeared before him.
[You have entered the domain of the Twisted Constellation.]
Zeke’s eyes widened at the message.
“This is the domain of the Twisted Constellation?”
He had stumbled into a space he couldn’t locate even with the Akashic Code, brought here by the light Arthur Draker had unleashed.
Zeke found himself bewildered by the sudden restriction of his powers. He attempted to summon Levatein and Ascalon, but neither sword responded to his call.
Even his Shadow Armor refused to function properly, leaving Zeke with no choice but to draw another weapon from his inventory.
“At least I’ve got this,” he muttered, gripping Gram, the Sun Sword he had wielded in a past life.
The familiar weight of Gram in his hand transported him back to those days. With the sword in his grasp, Zeke cautiously advanced through the corridors of the Cradle, ever vigilant.
‘If this is indeed the twisted constellation’s domain, there should be a temple at its center where it resides,’ he thought.
Determined to reach the heart of the Cradle, he headed towards the Pankration training grounds. As he navigated the branching hallways, something felt off.
‘The direction’s wrong?’
It dawned on Zeke that the source of his unease was the mirrored nature of the place. Not only were the colors different, but the entire layout was reversed, as if reflected in a mirror.
‘An alternate world on the other side of the mirror…’
He recalled a similar experience when he had faced the head of the Nostra family, entering a mirrored world where the boss’s true form was hidden.
Zeke speculated that the twisted constellation might also be an entity existing outside the normal dimensions.
Recalling the paths of the Cradle from memory, he cautiously made his way to the Pankration training grounds.
Boom!
As he opened the door, the training ground appeared almost identical to his memories, albeit reversed.
‘I took quite a beating here back then.’
In his past life, Zeke had been unable to unlock his lower energy center, leaving him weak and defenseless against the powerful bloodline clans.
He had often been bullied, especially in Pankration, a sport he despised for its hand-to-hand combat.
Ironically, after being exiled from Draker, Zeke had become a master of lethal martial arts as a hitman for the Southern Continent’s cartel.
‘Back then, I didn’t realize my potential and just tried to avoid conflict.’
With a wry smile, Zeke surveyed the area, noticing a patch of white sand that was out of place. He approached it cautiously.
As he reached out and grabbed a handful of sand, something suddenly shot up from beneath.
Thump!
A hand burst from the sand, seizing Zeke’s wrist.
Instinctively, Zeke reversed his grip on Gram and drove it into the sand.
Thud!
He felt the sword pierce something. The hand gripping his wrist slackened and disappeared back into the sand.
Realizing he couldn’t capture whatever it was, Zeke slowly retreated.
With no records in the Akashic Code about the twisted constellation’s domain, he couldn’t even identify his enemy.
‘I need to find the creator of this realm to discover a way out.’
Though he had reached the Cradle’s center, it seemed this wasn’t the place.
Once more, he pondered the location of the twisted constellation’s temple.
‘If my hunch is correct, the temple should be…’
With a sharp glint in his eyes, Zeke raised Gram and set off in a new direction.